Washington, D.C. - Today, the Obama administration announced a formal Memorandum of Understanding signed between various agencies involved in the siting of large-scale renewable energy projects and transmission lines, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Council on Environmental Quality, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and Department of the Interior.

Cooperation between agencies will be essential as we build the large clean energy projects necessary to fight global warming. It's encouraging to see the Obama administration commit to the kind of collaboration needed to swiftly ramp up our nation's clean energy infrastructure.

In order to combat global warming, we need to drastically reduce carbon pollution by replacing coal and other fossil fuels with cleaner energy sources. These include efficiency and small-scale measures like solar panels on homes, as well as large-scale wind and solar projects.

We have an opportunity now to get America's clean energy right, from the start. We can strike a balance between building the large-scale renewable power, quickly, and protecting ecologically sensitive lands. This means taking the time at the front end to identify the most suitable sites for energy development.

Some of the best places to build new energy projects are lands that are already in use with farming, roads, and development. The Sierra Club will continue to work with federal and local agencies, as well as power generators, to identify the best possible sites for energy projects and avoid conflicts with wildlife.

Any new power infrastructure that's built should be designed to support clean energy. New transmission lines should carry wind and solar power, not dirty coal.

With careful planning and cooperation now, we can end the legacy of environmental destruction from outdated energy sources like coal and oil.